Study: Facebook Users Go Online Three Times as Often

According to research conducted by Nielsen, Australians with Facebook accounts are online a little over three times as long as non-Facebook users, which Nielsen says is indicative of how different types of users view the Internet.

"Facebook users are spending a lot more time using video, a lot more time on entertainment sites, and so on," says Mark Higginson, Nielsen director of Analytics. "Our conclusion is that those who use Facebook view it as another media platform. They think, 'will I watch television or surf on the internet for a while?'.

"Whereas non-Facebook users tend to the view the internet as more functionally orientated. They think, 'I have to do my banking' or 'I have to pay this bill.' Facebook users consume media, whereas non-users use the internet as a tool.”

This "digital divide," as Nielson puts it, also manifests itself in other ways. According to Nielsen, Facebook users spend seven times as long on search engines as non-Facebook users, and more than twice as long on entertainment sites. They also spend about 51 percent more time on news and information sites, Nielson reports.